This invention relates generally to apparatus for disintegrating (i.e., cutting and breaking) empty discarded frangible containers into small pieces of material to facilitate subsequent processing and recycling of those materials, and in particular, to apparatus suitable for use in a household to cut and/or break up glass or plastic bottles and jars, metal cans, and plastic or cardboard boxes of the type in which household products are packaged.
Various kinds of food and household products are packaged in small and medium-sized containers made of the aforesaid materials. A typical household is faced with the problem of disposing of a relatively large quantity of such containers, as well as other waste products, on a daily basis. It is economically desirable to salvage and recycle re-usable materials such as glass, metal, plastic and cardboard from which various products are made. However, the task of manually disintegrating these containers into small pieces which can be easily packaged and delivered to recycling centers is messy, discouraging and dangerous. It is desirable, therefore, to provide apparatus suitable for use in a household which is capable of automatically and safely cutting and breaking discarded containers of the aforesaid type into relatively small pieces of material which are easily packaged and transported to recycling centers.
Presently, only general trash compactors and metal can crushers appear to be commercially available for household use. However, trash compactors merely crush a mixed variety of organic (garbage) and otherwise reusable materials for disposal in a landfill or incinerator and do not facilitate recycling of reusable materials. On the other hand, can crushers (manually or electrically operated) are specifically designed to process metal cans and cannot be efficiently and safely used to process glass, plastic or cardboard containers.
For commercial processing of waste and salvage of reusable materials there are available certain large and expensive machines, as shown in the following patents. Hannigan et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,817, discloses apparatus for breaking up containers filled with food. The Tipton patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,188 shows a machine for separating plastic fragments from broken containers by flotation. Other patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,784,340; 4,632,317; 4,040,571; European Patent No. 0 234 337 and West German Patent No. 3704713 relate to shredders for organic waste. All of the aforementioned patents employ one or more horizontally-disposed helical screws to process material. None is similar in purpose, size, construction or mode of operation to applicant's invention hereinafter described.